"We've got a chance, a greater chance than we maybe expected," he added.

"The problem now will be the expectation level. There's still a lot of work to do. But that's for the future."

The 41-year-old also singled out England international Fraser Forster for praise before going on to highlight the gulf in quality between the two squads.

He added: "You need your goalkeeper to be fantastic to beat Barcelona. You need luck as well and Barcelona hit the bar and the post.

"But the difference between me and Tito Vilanova [Barca's coach] is that he can bring on Cesc Fabregas and David Villa, I bring on Tony Watt, an 18-year-old signed for £50,000 from a club called Airdrie.

"When I took the job on, I said I wanted to bring the thunder back and I've never seen an atmosphere like I did tonight."